Two Texas Department of Criminal Justice employees were arrested at the Estelle Unit over the weekend in connection with an investigation concerning contraband being smuggled in to inmates.

Mary Elizabeth Walker and Yosennia Carolina Dejoie were both booked into the Walker County Jail on Saturday.

Walker is being held on two counts of bribery and remains in custody on a pair of $50,000 bonds. Dejoie has been charged with having prohibited substances and items in a correctional facility. Dejoie was released Sunday from the Walker County Jail on a $20,000 bond. ...

Walker and Dejoie were correctional officers at the Estelle Unit, which is located 10 miles north of Huntsville on FM 3478. Walker had been employed by TDCJ for two years, and Dejoie had 10 months of service.

It's one thing to charge them, of course, another to secure convictions. But for whatever reason, these are more serious charges than we're used to seeing brought against contraband-smuggling guards.

17 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Sometimes you can tell about them (this particular type of woman) when they show up for the job interview. They are usually not that lean, but they have that hungry look - hungry to tangle with a rapist or a murder. Looking for that bad boy of their dreams. It's not for nothing that they choose to work in a prison. By number, they may account for just 10% of the workers but they their mark.

Prosecution to the fullest extent under the law of correctional staff involved in smuggling contraband, drugs, and other banned or prohibited items is long overdue. I support the vigourous prosecution of individuals who violate the public trust and engage in such acts. Now we need to prosecute those administrators that waste, mismanage, and misrepresent the truth (lie) under oath to legislators and the public.

I worked in prisons for about a decade (medical). Most guards are just doing a job- neither evil nor saintly. Some are truly engaged, compassionate people who are godsends. But it the nature of the work that draws a few who just should not be there- the ones who crave power over others and love to exercise it, the sadists, the ones- male and female- who harbor in themselves an attraction to bad boys- and girls. Those few make life miserable for so many, are a danger to others, and need to be booted at the first sign of trouble. Not a minor infraction, mind- but you get to know who they are pretty quick and learn to be on alert around them. They cause a lot of trouble that others must clean up.

Those staff who take the job so they can hook up with the criminal are easy to spot. They shake their ass and, almost from day one, display all the warning signs. The trouble is, supervisors almost always ignore these blatant warning signs. I've always wondered why this is. Some tell me it's just part of the culture. My question: why do we allow the worst of us to determine the culture? Many of us have no trouble understanding this. Why do administrators have so much trouble comprehending?

I have a son in Texas in prison who has had a sexual affair with a female major...I met her in the visiting room, and you could see the electric sparks fly between them, I can't believe no one else saw it. He laughed about it.

I no longer visit my son, and in fact, when he came up for parole a year ago, I hired an attorney to FIGHT his parole. My son is a dangerous man, in prison for murder, and he should never be let out. He has a "life" sentence.

He also has been caught with a cell phone and other contraband. He thinks it is funny to smuggle stuff in and pay off guards. The guards should be prosecuted and if they are convicted given felony-type sentences. A few convictions and sentences would slow them down at least. Now they do not appear to fear getting caught. No big deal.

Some people seek to be deceived, to be betrayed, to be degraded. This motive is often very strong and can be overwhelming. What better place to get this need met than in a prison interacting with a sociopath? Prison is the perfect playground for those driven by this need. Some guards find that living a double life adds spice to the whole transaction.

I was in T.D.C.J. for over ten years. Two of those were at the Estelle Unit. I was there in 2010 when the guards, a captain included, murdered a blind (Estelle is a medical unit), older man. They beat him to death in his cell and said that he committed suicide b y jumping off his bunk (right). Furhter, regarding the gender thing - women shouldn't be allowed to work in the men's prison-system. Maybe in the outer office, but never in contact with any inmates...

And that's sad because the male officers are much worse, the have relationships with these people more than the women do! I know of what I speak I used to work at this unit! UP ON THREE ROW...IT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT TYPE OF PARTY!

I served 37 years in TDCJ. Twice assigned to the Estelle Unit. The facility is one of the most secure units in TDCJ. That being said there shortages in staff. Convicts will always find a way to circumvent the system.

ESTELLE IS NOT ONLY MEDICAL ITS A COMPLEX. THAT MEANS THEY HAVE MEDICAL,MINIMUM,MEDIUM,CLOSED,AND 3 LEVELS OF SEGREGATION. SO DONT MAKE IT SEEM LIKE THAT THEY ONLY HAVE MEDICAL INMATES. AND IF YOU DID OBSERVED SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENING YOU SHOULD OF REPORTED IT THAT MAKES YOU JUST AS GUILTY AS THE ONES WHO DID IT.

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